Hitherto-known methods for creating hollow embroidery (hollow three-dimensional embroidery) are to make embroidery while placing plate-shaped members on a cloth to be embroidered and, subsequently, to dissolve the plate-shaped member.
For instance, according to a method stated in Patent Document 1 for manufacturing embroidery having hollow three-dimensional patterns, a foundation cloth is embroidered by use of water-insoluble embroidery thread and an embroidery back thread. After the foundation cloth is further embroidered with an overlapping unwoven cloth and/or a woven cloth formed from water-soluble fiber, the water-soluble fiber is dissolved and removed in water whose dissolution temperature is higher than that of the water-soluble fiber by at least 10° C. or more, thereby obtaining hollow embroidery.
According to an embroidery patch and a processing method in Patent Document 2, an embroidery patch internally including an organdy core material in an integrated manner is obtained through: an embroidery step of embroidering organdy with an overlapping synthetic resin plate which dissolves in an organic solvent; a separation step of cutting off unwanted portions of the synthetic resin plate other than the embroidered portion formed in the embroidery step; a plate dissolution step of dissolving and eliminating the synthetic resin plate still left in the embroidery by bringing the embroidered portion cut off in the separation step into contact with the organic solvent along with the organdy and the synthetic resin plate provided inside; and a heat-cutting step of cutting the organdy with heat along an outer brim of the embroidery.
In relation to an auxiliary embroidery member, and an embroidery method, and an embroidery product utilizing the auxiliary embroidery member mentioned in Patent Document 3, an embroidery method utilizing a spacer is to obtain hollow three-dimensional embroidery through the steps of: placing a spacer on a foundation cloth; sewing the foundation cloth with the embroidery thread by way of the spacer; and dissolving the spacer in tetrachloroethylene.
The applicants have already filed the patent applications of Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 in connection with a sewing machine including: an upstream grip section having an upstream grip section section main body for gripping a needle thread by pinching; a downstream grip section that is placed at a downstream position on a needle thread path with reference to the upstream grip section and that has a downstream grip section main body which grips the needle thread by pinching; and a circular movement section for circularly moving the needle thread between the upstream grip section main body and the downstream grip section main body.